Following a flurry of feedback to a planned disclosure requirement regarding uncertain tax positions, the Internal Revenue Service is stepping back, further developing the proposal, and extending the comment period for it.

That will give companies more time to digest and comment on the IRS plan to require disclosure of uncertain tax positions with the corporate tax return. Tax experts originally faced a March 29 deadline to comment on the proposal, which would establish a new schedule for companies to describe where they have some uncertain tax positions on their tax returns.

The IRS has since been pelted with questions and comment, most significantly whether the new schedule might be required with 2009 tax returns. Questions also have focused on the scope of the new proposal, such as how it might apply to pass-through or tax-exempt entities, as well as how it might duplicate other existing reporting requirements.

So for starters, the IRS said no, it won’t require the new disclosures with 2009 tax returns. It has promised to take a step back from its original announcement, provide some new information on its plan, and extend the comment deadline to June 1.

The IRS said it is continuing to develop the proposal and plans to publish a draft schedule and draft instructions in early April. The draft schedule and instructions should clarify some of the issues that have already arisen, the IRS said. “As the proposal is further developed and finalized, the Service recognizes the need to adjust its programs to ensure the appropriate use of the data from the schedule, and to address possible increases in demand for guidance and issue resolution,” the IRS said in its announcement extending the comment period.

IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman sent shivers up the spines of corporate tax experts when he unveiled the proposal in a late January speech to a state bar association. He said the IRS is looking for ways to make its audit and examination processes more efficient, and a roadmap to uncertain positions in the tax return would enable the IRS to prioritize examinations and plan audits.